To celebrate Chinese New Year (which, this year, lies on February 19), visit Dawes Point in Sydney, Australia from February 13 to February 22 to see 90 colorful lantern sculptures that were inspired by the famous Terracotta Warriors. Created by Chinese artist Xia Nan, these larger than life lanterns were made from fabric and wire. Glowing from within, they have the beauty and delicacy of traditional Chinese lanterns.
The original Terracotta Warriors are a collection of sculptures that were discovered in 1974 by a group of local farmers in the Shaanxi Province. They depict the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. The sculptures are a form of funeral art. They were buried with the emperor around 210–209 BCE to protect the emperor in his afterlife. At more than 8,000 soldiers and horses, the discovery of them makes them the largest pottery figurine group ever found in China and one of the most extraordinary archaeological finds of modern times.
We saw this installation last year in Edinburgh where it helped usher in the 2014 Chinese New Year. The sculptures were originally created for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and now travel the world shining their light on different cities. This is the first time they have been in Australia.
Below are the artist’s impression photos of the exhibition at Dawes Point.
